A new start-up competition is launching to find the brightest stars of the tech scenes around the world.

Organised by the technology news website The Next Web, Startup World is holding pitching competitions in 36 cities world wide.

The regional winners will be flown to Silicon Valley to pitch to a panel of expert judges with one of them crowned as the the world’s best start-up in the end.

The winner will get a three-month incubation period at i/o Ventures – an early mentorship stage start-up programme in Silicon Valley – worth $30,000.

The idea behind Startup World is to shine a light on technology that’s being built all over the world, tech journalist Hermoine Way explained on the launch video.

“Whilst Silicon Valley is undoubtedly the highest producer of technology companies in the world, there’s actually a global entrepreneurial revolution happening”, she said.

“As the cost of innovation is coming down, people all over the world are building start-ups with a laptop and a wifi connection.”

For more information and to find out how to apply, visit the Startup World website.

With the new invention, titled spnKiX, you can drive to the station with a motorised pair of shoes.

“I think we do a lot of driving that we don’t need to do”, Peter explained in a BBC interview while demoing his speedy invention at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

“It’s kind of like a superhero device”, Peter said laughing when asked about whether he agreed the product was a bit of an odd one to develop.

“It’s one of those things  – you wanna be able fly, you wanna be able to shoot laser out of your eyes, you wanna be able to move really quickly.”

To see the shoes in action, visit the original story on the BBC website.

Martin believes his city is capable of producing top internet companies if the digital community had “the balls” to get going.

“I really think we could be doing a lot more in Manchester and the Northwest to promote and help develop the technology scene here”, Bryant told local news website How-Do.

“There’s a lot of digital talent but not enough entrepreneurialism based around original IP – most of the people I speak to in Manchester with Internet tech-related skills are doing client work.”

“That’s all well and good, but with such a pedigree in science, technology and the arts, Manchester should have the balls to produce the giant consumer Internet companies of tomorrow.”

From left: Martin Bryant, ignite100 Programme Manager Paul Smith, Stuart Dredge and John Hill. Photo by Emilia Flockhart, Codeworks.

North East start-ups were given a chance to get first-hand advice on how to pitch stories to the media at an event in Gateshead last night.

Three technology journalists took part in a panel discussion at the event organised in collaboration between local tech network Codeworks Connect and accelerator programme ignite100.

Martin Bryant, European editor of The Next Web, Stuart Dredge, a freelance journalist writing for publications such as The Guardian and Music Alley, and John Hill, science & technology editor at The Journal in Newcastle were on the panel to share their thoughts on PR agencies, press releases, embargoes and exclusives.

The first contact

So I’m a budding tech start-up with an interesting app in the making and want to tell the world about it. What do I do?

Stuart’s simple advice is to simply be ‘human’.

“Don’t think ‘I must to write a pitch’, he said.

“Think about how would you explain this to someone in a pub when it’s over. That’s a great way of talking. How would you talk to someone normally.”

“One key thing is not to get overawed by the publication”, John said, comparing tech journalists to “crappy” humans in Transformers.

“They get to hang around but don’t really transform into a motorcycle or anything cool. Their job is not to get into too much trouble and tell other humans that the scary robots aren’t there to hurt them.”

John’s advice is to let journalists into your world and really make it exciting for them while at the same time trying not to feel like you need to be more impressive than you need to be.

“Get into a conversation rather than trying to browbeat them with jargon you think they need to hear.”

“People just want to hear interesting conversations about where you’re going and what you’re doing.”

The evening was based around a panel discussion. Photo by Emilia Flockhart, Codeworks.

What about PR agencies?

There are very few really good PR agencies around that specialise in start-ups, Martin said.

“If I was a start-up and I had limited money, I would just do it myself”, he said.

“One of the reasons is obviously that you don’t have to waste money on a bad PR agency, but the other one is that most journalists prefer a personal touch.”

“It’s the personal story behind the app or the new start-up that’s interesting.”

Rather than having a PR agency send you press releases with wordy, badly written intros, it might be much more effective to just drop a few simple lines about your start-up to the journalist yourself. If your work is interesting, they will get back to you.

According to Stuart, a good PR agency can help you refine your pitch, but can be difficult to find and hiring a bad one can end up costing you more than money.

“A bad PR agency can harm you because they will just spam journalists and piss them off”, Stuart said.

To identify a good PR agency, Stuart’s advice is to pay attention to how they listen to what you say and how they understand your business rather than how much they praise you with platitudes.

It’s also a good indication of professionalism if they already have an idea which specific journalists might be interested in the story.

Make it personal

Tech journalists tend to find their inboxes full of press releases, pitches and contacts. Is there anything you can do to make yours stand out?

“‘The personal touch works”, Stuart said.

He told the audience, not to think only about targeting a particular publication, but a particular journalist.

One tip was to read what they write about and start your email by saying ‘I saw your article about this and thought you might be interested in this app’ or ‘we disagree and this is why’.

“That shows they know that you’re covering that area and why you might be interested”, Stuart said.

So what makes tech journalists tick?

“There are lots of start-ups that are doing something a little bit different, but every two or three months you see one that does something really different”, Martin said.

“It’s not necessarily world-changing, but if someone comes up with something that’s going to change the face of, say, gardening, I want to be the first want who writes about it!”

It’s new, interesting, early stuff with a spark that also does it for Stuart.

“Things you can see disrupting something. If it’s going to really mess up someone big, to really shake things up. That’s always fascinating.”

Conceptual rendition of a multipixel contact lens display. Image from the research paper.

We might soon be able to check our emails right in front of our eyes – literarlly.

US researchers are developing contact lenses that can project images in front of your eyes.

Working in collaboration with Aalto University in Finland, the research team has so far been able to control a single pixel on the lens.

The technology, called “wearable computing”, could see us consume information like emails, cues from navigation and even video games on our contact lenses.

The team is now hoping to increase the range of pixels and adding colours.

If successful, the technology could “fundamentally change the nature of interaction between humans and visual information”, the team said.

According to the lead researcher Professor Babak Parviz, they have already “demonstrated that contact lenses can be built that include very small radios, light sources, antennas, control circuits, and sensors”.

“We have shown that a contact lens can be powered by radio waves on a live eye”, he said in the Sydney Morning Herarld.

The research paper was published in the Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering (pdf).

A great opportunity has arisen for a Senior Developer to join an internal web development team.

The department consists of highly skilled software architects, developers, business analysts, test technicians and technical authors all operating in a dynamic and customer focused environment.

As well as encouraging innovation and agility the company also looks to embrace the latest technologies to provide ever increasing business benefits to their customers.

Experience in the following technologies is essential: C#, SQL Server, ASP.NET MVC 2/3, WPF, WCF and JavaScript. A good working knowledge of development tools and utilities, such as Visual Studio/TFS 2010, Linq Pad, Profilers, Web support and monitoring tools, Wix Installers, would be of great benefit.

It is desirable to have had exposure to Security in the context of Desktop and Web development (i.e. Threat modelling and mitigation), Windows Workflow Foundation and Windows Identity Foundation, Agile development processes.

They are looking for someone with a keen eye for detail, a pro-active nature and an inquisitive mind. You’ll be able to demonstrate resilience and determination whilst remaining flexible and responsive to changing needs within a multidiscipline team. An ability to solve problems whilst working under pressure and to tight time scales is essential. You’ll enjoy working as part of a well-integrated team and must have good listening, verbal and written communication skills.

In addition to the extremely competitive salary on offer the company has an enviable benefits package which includes a contributory pension scheme, company bonus, 25 days holiday and BUPA healthcare plan.

If you are interested in the advertised position please apply by contacting Sharpe Recruitment.

Sharpe Recruitment is a North East based consultancy, dedicated to placing professionals in rewarding jobs throughout the North of England across a variety of disciplines including Digital Media, Creative Advertising, Sales & Marketing, PR, IT and Business Operations.

A YouTube video of a baby fiddling with an iPad and print magazines shows us just how intuitive new technologies can be.

The video features a 1-year-old baby trying to press and swipe her fingers across images on print magazines in frustration.

According to Jean-Louis, the internet activist who posted the video, it’s a ‘humble tribute’ to Steve Jobs.

“Technology codes our minds, changes our OS. Apple products have done this extensively”, he wrote.

“The video shows how magazines are now useless and impossible to understand, for digital natives.”

“For my 1-year-old daughter, a magazine is an iPad that does not work. It will remain so for her whole life. Steve Jobs has coded a part of her OS.”

But now one French airport has taken falseness and illusion to a new level.

Paris’ Orly airport is experimenting with virtual boarding agents – images which greet passengers and direct them to their boarding gate.

The agents, which are rear projected onto a human shaped silhouette made of plexiglass, materialise when a real member of staff presses a button at the start of boarding.

The airport hopes the projections will prove more engaging than traditional electronic display terminals.

The name of the destination flashes in front of the image while it says, for example, “Bonjour! I invite you to go to your boarding gate. Paris Airports wishes you a bon voyage.”

Airport authority AdP came up with the idea as a way of modernising Hall 40, one of the many boarding gates at Orly.

Didier Leroy, the airport’s director of operations, said children in particular loved the new additions.

“They’re attracted to it and try to play with it,” he said.

“There’s finally very few who find it useless or just a gizmo.”

The technology has also been trialled at several UK airports, including Manchester and Luton, earlier this year.

Source: Stuff.co.nz

Interactive technology company Screenreach Interactive Ltd is looking for an experienced and ambitious C# & C++ Developer.

What you’ll be doing:

• Working in the Broadcast team
• Focusing on our integration with broadcast, establishing the assimilation of our Screach Syncing Platform with TV
• Brainstorming with the team to help conceptualise ideas
• Working on high profile national and international contracts
• Be part of a cutting edge technology team

What you need for this position:

• Extensive experience in C# and C++
• Enthusiasm for developing new ideas
• Ability to think on your feet, quickly and to tight deadlines
• Confidence and passion – a good team player

To apply visit the company website.

Interactive technology company Screenreach Interactive Ltd is looking for an experienced and ambitious Action Script Developer.

What you’ll be doing:

• Creating cool interactive projects as a full time programmer
• Working with the design team to transform their graphics into a fully functioning experience
• Brainstorming with the team to help conceptualise ideas
• Working on high profile national and international contracts
• Be part of a cutting edge technology team

What you need for this position:

• Considerable experience with ActionScript 3.0
• Enthusiasm for developing new ideas
• Ability to think on your feet, quickly and to tight deadlines
• Confidence and passion – a good team player
• HTML, CSS, JavaScript & gaming experience is a bonus

To apply visit the company website.